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Wednesday federal headlines - August 21, 2013

Wednesday - 8/21/2013, 9:53am EDT

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal
Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The
Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the
stories you hear on the air.

Four State Department security bureau employees have been cleared of security failures in last
September's attack on the compound in Benghazi, Libya. They'll all get new
assignments. An internal review concluded no breach of duty occurred. Among the
four are Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security;
Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary responsible for embassy security; and
Raymond Maxwell, deputy assistant secretary of state who oversaw Libya, Algeria,
Tunisia and Morocco. A spokeswoman says no other are under investigation.
Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were killed in the terrorist attack.
(Associated Press)

The Obama administration has rejected even limited U.S. military intervention
in Syria. That's because officials can't figure out who the good guys are. The
Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff lays out the non-intervention case in a
letter to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.). Gen. Martin Dempsey says administration
officials don't think the rebels battling Syrian President Bashar El Assad would
support U.S. interests if they
succeeded in taking over. Dempsey says the Syrian civil war is not between two
sides but among many groups. He argues U.S. military aid would offer no strategy
for peace. (Associated Press)

President Barack Obama chided the Securities and Exchange Commission for slow
implementation of new financial laws. He spoke to an agency with lots of holes in its
leadership. The Wall Street Journal has found the SEC is plagued with
executive turnover. Chairman Mary Jo White is the third boss in nine months. Three
of five commissioners have left since December. In the past year, four of the
agency's five divisional chiefs have stepped down. Since June, four regional
directors and enforcement chiefs have left. They had a combined 103 years of
experience. An insider tells the Journal, employees are worn down by the turnover
and hectoring by Congress. (Wall Street Journal)

An explosion has injured eight people at the
Earle Naval Weapons Station in Middletown, N.J. Seven were treated at area
hospitals and released, including a civilian firefighter. One sailor stayed to
undergo surgery for a broken arm. The Navy hasn't released the victims' names. A
spokeswoman says the explosion was accidental and that nearby ammunition and
ordnance were not affected. The blast occurred in a boathouse where the victims
were doing maintenance on an aluminum utility vessel. (Associated Press)

The National Security Agency can track 75 percent of Americans' Internet communications as
it hunts for foreign threats. The Wall Street Journal reports, the NSA also keeps
the content of some emails between U.S. citizens and filters domestic phone calls
made over the Internet. The agency has limited authority to spy on Americans.
Officials tell the Journal the NSA discards much of the data that does not involve
foreigners. Meanwhile, the NSA is still trying to assess the damage done by former
contractor Edward Snowden. Sources tell NBC News the agency does not know exactly how many documents Snowden took
or what they are. (Wall Street Journal)

A military judge brings some closure to the three-year-old WikiLeaks saga
today. She'll sentence Army Pvt. Bradley Manning for
leaking classified information to the web site. Prosecutors want Manning to spend
60 years in prison for violating the Espionage Act and other laws. Manning's
defense attorneys are hoping for 25 years. They have tried to paint a sympathetic
portrait of a gay and idealistic, if misguided, soldier in a repressive military
culture that ignored signs of mental illness. Manning apologized to the courtroom
last week, saying he thought he was helping and not hurting people. (Associated
Press)

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has dealt what federal
whistleblower advocates are calling "a major blow." In Kaplan v. Conyers, the
panel considered the rights of two Defense Department employees who appealed to
the Merit Systems Protection Board after they were suspended and demoted. Because
the two held sensitive positions, the Appeals Court says, the Board
has no authority to review their cases. Federal employees' unions and advocates
say they're disappointed. They say the Court potentially has ended due process
rights of tens of thousands of national security employees. (U.S. Court of
Appeals)

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan says the court hasn't really "gotten to" email. She told an audience at Brown
University in Rhode Island yesterday that justices prefer pens and paper. She says
they're not "necessarily the most technologically sophisticated people." But Kagan
says the members are trying to understand new technology as they grapple with
legal issues concerning data and privacy. She says some justices tried their hands
at gaming while deliberating a case about violent video games. She says "it was
kind of hilarious." (Associated Press)

The Pentagon says same-sex spouses of service members can line up for official
identification cards beginning Sept. 3. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nate
Christensen says service members will have to show a valid marriage certificate
from a state or country that recognizes same-sex marriages. TRICARE also opens to
same-sex spouses that day. Christensen says other benefits, including allowances
for basic housing and family separation, are retroactive from the date of the
Supreme Court's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act, June 26. (Defense
Department)

The IRS is doing a poor job of managing its software licenses. It's not paying
for all the licenses employees are using. In other cases, it's not using all the
licenses it is paying for. Those are among the conclusions of a new audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration. The IG found the IRS lacks policies and procedures for software
license management. It also lacks the tools necessary to automate software license
management. That inattention exposes the agency to potential fines and recoveries
by software vendors. The IG, J. Russell George, recommends the IRS technology shop
acquire the tools necessary to get licensing under control. (Treasury)

IBM has agreed to acquire
Trusteer, an Israeli software company specializing in preventing financial
fraud. IBM says the addition will help it provide more trustworthy cloud computing
services. Trusteer specializes in protection of Web applications, mobile devices
and end-user computers. It claims special expertise in advanced persistent threats
and malware. Most of its customers are banks. As part of the deal IBM will
establish a new cybersecurity research lab in Israel with 200 scientists and
developers. IBM recently won a spot on $1 billion Interior Department multiple-
award cloud computing contract. (IBM)